Kiss it Better
by OceanLeviathan
Summary: Game verse, set just before the game storyline. When one of Shu and Jiro's adventures in the ancient ruins goes horribly wrong, the last remaining doctor of Talta is left to fix it. slight Jiro/Kluke


**Just a really short Jiro/Kluke-ish (game verse) fic, posted up here solely because there is a severe lack of BD fanfics and j/k fics too xD. Tisn't great, but I tried to keep them in character...**

She knew it would have happened one day.

Dipping the small cloth in a bowl of water, she cleaned the blood contaminating it. Then, after wringing the material tightly, she proceeded to continue cleaning the wounds on the young boy's body. They were not serious in themselves but a large amount of dirt and sand from the desert had seeped in, which posed a risk of infection that Kluke was not willing to take.

She was not going to lose another person she cared about, not if she could prevent it.

Jiro winced visibly in his sleep as Kluke wiped the cloth over a cut on his cheek. She drew back quickly and sighed, wondering why they persisted to ignore her warnings. The two boys' travels to the ancient ruins had become much more frequent recently with neither Shu nor Jiro saying why or what they were hoping to achieve. She had lost count of the number of times she practically begged them to stay in the village.

However, it was to no avail.

Shu had told her the entire story: that he and Jiro had been searching through the ruins looking for materials for a 'secret experiment' when they had been attacked by one of the local monsters. The monster in question was huge and ferocious, shining a metallic gold and stinking to high heaven. Jiro had told Shu to run, but the smaller boy fancied his chances and withdrew his hunting knife. He dashed towards the monster standing nearly ten storeys high yet his attacks failed to even scratch it. In his anger, he failed to see it swipe him.

But Jiro did.

In an attempt to protect his younger friend, Jiro ran into the monster's attack and was hit by the brunt of it. The force sent him flying into the cavern wall behind them where he fell crumpled into a heap. Shu cried out his name at the top of his voice, but he received no reply. The monster, seemingly bored by the small boy's antics, did not attempt to follow Shu as he rushed to Jiro's aid. He called his name repeatedly in desperation, yet Jiro made no response or sign of consciousness. His breathing was slow and weak but at least he was still alive. Shu knew that he needed a doctor quickly, and so slowly lifted the older (and larger) boy onto his back into a somewhat lopsided piggyback with Jiro's toes dragging across the sandy floor.

And so he was brought here to Kluke's home, the last surviving doctor of Talta Village, where he was yet to waken from his slumber. Kluke bowed her head in frustration wishing that she could do more for him, praying that she wouldn't lose him forever. Her grip on the small rag tightened fiercely, her knuckles turning white in an attempt to prevent the tears from falling.

"Kluke?" The young girl turned her head slightly to see a young boy peering through the door "Is Jiro gonna be okay?"

Kluke quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand; she was well practised in hiding her tears. "Well his breathing is getting more stable, so lets hope" she smiled weakly with her answer.

Shu slowly walked into the room and placed a hand on her shoulder. Kluke looked up at his beaming face, which was clearly forced but nonetheless made a smile tug at her lips too. "Jiro is much stronger than you think, Kluke. He's been there for the both of us when we've needed him, so we have to be there in his time of need. We can't give up on him now." He closed one of his fists tightly as he said the last sentence, trying to emphasise the statement.

Kluke nodded to herself and smiled, how is it that Shu could always make a situation so much simpler?

Looking back, she saw the teenager yawning widely and sighed too. "Its late Shu, you need to sleep or Jiro will wake up with no one to greet him smiling."

Shu nodded and mumbled sleepily, turning towards the door. "G'night Kluke, see ya in the morning".

Kluke waved to the retreating boy before turning to her patient. His face looked so calm, so serene and if it weren't for the crimson slashes scattered across his porcelain skin she would have simply thought him to be sleeping. Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes again, this time spilling over her cheeks and splashing onto Jiro's face. For a moment Kluke thought she saw his face falter slightly but it was fleeting, his expression remained unchanged after that.

Her eyelids felt excruciatingly heavy, she would also need to sleep soon. With her last ounce of strength, she carefully leant over Jiro, and placed her lips on his forehead.

"Good night, Jiro" she whispered, before falling asleep in her chair beside his bed.


End file.
